


That's What Makes You Beautiful

by nerdlife4eva



Series: Ice and Fire [6]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Belly Dancing, Best Friends, Character Development, Dancing, Developing Friendships, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, Otabek is a nerd, Otabek is embarrassed, Prompt Fill, Skype, Song Lyrics, Teenage Dorks, Traveling, Tumblr Prompt, catfishpromptparty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 10:03:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12318807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdlife4eva/pseuds/nerdlife4eva
Summary: Otabek arrives in St. Petersburg to spend a few days with Yuri before they travel with Victuuri to Japan. When they are finally able to spend time in the same place, it is inevitable that they are going to find out some secrets about each other :).This fulfills my first prompt for theCatfish Prompt Partywhich was "Super cool DJ Otabek who keeps his actual favorite song secret because he doesn’t want anyone to know"Also fulfilling Tumblr prompts from an anon "If you're still doing the 5 word prompts: Yurio - bitch better have my money" and from my favorited2diamondwhich was "Five word prompt: OtaYuri - “do it. i dare you.” (Also please go check outDiamond's Ao3for all of her fics!!)Smashed a lot into this one, I hope you enjoy it!!





	That's What Makes You Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> Otabek's actual favorite song?? Well, it is none other than... [That's What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E)
> 
> He is cool, he has a motorcycle and is a DJ, but at his core Otabek is a giant nerd... and boy do I love him for it!!
> 
> Reference is also made to this fic: [Keep Calm and Belly Dance](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11652960)
> 
> And the dinner date concept is based off of the official art which can be found here: [Yoi Official Art](https://yoiofficialart.tumblr.com/post/159461677401/yuri-on-ice)

Otabek arrived in St. Petersburg two days ahead of the scheduled group trip to Japan, taking up residence in Coach Yakov’s guest room. He was thankful to be only a few steps from Yuri’s room and far enough away from both Coach Yakov and Madame Lilia to let him breathe a little. His plane ride had been uneventful, but it was still an unfamiliar situation, making Otabek feel jumpy inside his own skin.  

The invitation to visit, and subsequently travel with Yuri, Victor, and Yuuri to Japan, was slightly overwhelming. It had been proposed three times, by all three of his future travel companions, until he had given in and agreed to go. The excited lilt to Yuri’s voice had been hard to ignore, and with the off season finally upon them Otabek couldn’t find any reason not to accept the offer.

Not that he hadn’t tried. Everyone, including his friends, thought of him as this aloof hyper-cool older teenager. What no one paid attention to was his constant feeling of being out of place, like a puzzle piece morphed by water that no longer fit where it belonged. Where his friends were wild and loud, he was calm and collected. Where all the other DJs at his home club were ready to flirt with every life form, Otabek performed his sets in silence, barely reacting to the bodies that moved near him. And the other figure skaters… that was a whole other palette of contrast, not even describable in words.

His mother called him an old soul while his sister called him an old man. He never fought either of them on these observations. He liked routine and his books. He liked good music and nice clothes. His leather jacket was that of a favorite designer, while his favorite jeans were from a secondhand shop. His personality was full of contradictions, but he had grown comfortable with the reality of it, even when it left him feeling unsettled and unsure of his place in the world.

Until Yuri. Yuri Plisetsky was a walking firecracker loaded with contradictions. Anger was his primary emotion, but show his friend a cat and Yuri would produce the most sickeningly sweet cooing noises that Otabek had ever heard. The blond could spit venom about someone’s shoes and in the same breath wax poetic about food. He loved his family, blood and chosen, even though he never admitted those feelings for anyone but his grandfather. Yuri flexed and danced like a professional ballet dancer, but cut the ice like an assassin seeking vengeance for wrongdoing. Beauty, strength, anger, and snark, it was a recipe that made Yuri who he was and exactly what Otabek had been missing in his life.

Which is why he found himself awkwardly perched on the edge of a very pink guest bed, in the midst of a room covered in professional photos from Madame Lilia’s performance days. His flight had landed only an hour ago and he had come straight to the house, before being oddly banished to this room by Coach Yakov. Yuri had dance instruction before his day would be officially over and it had been made very clear that if Yuri wanted a vacation, he would meet Madame Lilia’s demands, no matter what time Otabek arrived.

The phone clenched in his hand beeped and he glanced down to see a text from Yuuri Katsuki. It was a bizarre development that he now had other skaters reaching out to him directly, and an even more absurd development that Otabek was reaching back. Until Yuri had agreed to be his friend that day in Barcelona, it had merely been JJ that had harassed him. Now, both Victor and Yuuri were on his contact list, along with Mila and Phichit. His skating friends circle had expanded and he was still adjusting to the change.

It was a simple text, as were all the texts from the older Yuuri, and Otabek sent out his response without hesitation. Yuuri had been the calmest of his new friends, communicating mostly when needed and with short, to the point, sentences. This simplicity was a comfort to Otabek, as it never caused him to question the motivations of the texts and therefore let him reply with ease instead of trepidation. Sighing, he attempted to relax back onto the bed when a sharp bang had him sitting up again. Somewhere down the hall he could Yuri yelling, the words blurring together as footsteps stomped over the hardwood floors.

“Leave me alone, YAKOV!” Yuri shouted, throwing his bag across the floor and ignoring the contents spilling out of the open zipper. It was ridiculous and stupid that he had been made to practice; all he ever did was practice so one day missed wouldn’t have killed him. Flicking his shoes off of his feet, Yuri furiously tossed his jacket onto his bed and dropped onto the floor of his closet in search of better clothing. He kept the nicest of his clothes the lowest hanging bar, only dragging out the sweaters and button-shirts when it was absolutely necessary. Running his hands through his hair, he huffed as he began to comb through each hanger.

He was positive Lilia had made his instructional time run later than it was scheduled and Yuri could feel the anger of that knowledge welling inside of him. Every day he followed every order, bent every limb on his body to someone else’s orders, and gave himself over in a way no one else in the rink did. His reward for that effort was being held late at practice, one the day that he and his best friend were finally going to be in the same country. Feeling the frustration ignite again, Yuri snatched a sweater from the closet hanger and threw it from his closet.

Reaching the door as a sweater flew into the air, Otabek leaned to catch it. The ball of fury who was his best friend was muttering like a mad man plotting murder while buried in the depths of the closet. Unable to resist Yuri’s potential reaction of being caught in mid-rant, Otabek propped himself on the door frame and dropped the once-flying garment directly on Yuri’s head.

Hissing like an angry cat as his world went dark, Yuri clawed at the fabric on his head turning to growl at his clothing-armed attacker. Spotting Otabek, Yuri froze, letting his hands drop into his lap and the flush of happiness take over his body.

It had been months of video chats, one epic weekend at Worlds, and countless memes exchanged that had built their friendship. The foundation of their relationship had crossbeams of bad jokes, shared music, and an understanding that sometimes they didn’t feel like talking. They had found a rhythm, one that was probably improved by distance, and Yuri had found himself anxious about a full month of time together. He had analyzed everything he would say to Otabek once they were sharing a space, but now all of those well-planned thoughts evaporated, leaving him silenced by his own extreme happiness. Sitting back on his heels, Yuri finally let himself properly look at Otabek as the unintentional smile spread over his face.

The bird’s nest of blond hair, paired with the now quiet smile, had Otabek smirking at Yuri. Prior to their conversation in Barcelona, Otabek had many assumptions about Yuri Plisetsky. Now, Otabek knew the aggressive boy better than he had ever hoped to, and appreciated all the variety of personality that came with him. Crossing his arms over his chest, Otabek raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?” Flipping a pair of jeans over Yuri’s knees, Otabek chuckled when Yuri picked them to swing them at Otabek’s legs.

“Some idiot came to visit and thinks we have to eat dinner at an actual restaurant,” Yuri yanked another sweater off a hanger and examined it before dropping it on the floor. “Why we have to go someplace nice is beyond me.” Pulling down a third sweater, this time with a matching shirt, Yuri conceded to the combination with a roll of his eyes. If it was up to him, they would be ordering take out and murdering noobs in Call of Duty all night. Instead, Yuri was obliging Otabek’s request for a real meal on their first night together. They could be useless for the entire next day in preparation for traveling with the whirlwind that was Victor and Yuuri.

“I was promised good food,” Otabek responded, reaching out to grab Yuri’s extended arm. Pulling Yuri to his feet, Otabek nodded at the bundle of clothes in his arms. “I’ll let you get dressed. Come get me when you’re ready.” Otabek turned to head from the room, the smile tugging at his lips. All the apprehension had melted away at the first sight of Yuri’s happy face, and Otabek felt the stress of everything to come fade away.

“Hey, Beka!” Yuri called, dropping his clothes on the bed to free up his arms. “I’m glad you’re here.” As he yanked the shirt over his head, Yuri grinned at Otabek’s smiling face.

“Me too,” Otabek chuckled, walking from the doorway and back into his own Pepto-bismal colored room.

* * *

 

The restaurant was a small rectangle, made up of glass on two walls with adjoining dark wood walls as their counterparts. The tables were a mixture of bar high and booth low, with the higher tables circling the perimeter along the glass. Tall chairs accompanied each table and as Yuri and Otabek took their seats, they both had to hoist themselves to comfortable positions. Feet swinging, they accepted their menus from the friendly waitress and began to quietly scan their options.

Noise was a murmured whisper despite the number of people in the small space, and Otabek found the static resonance calming. Lights hung low over every table, giving the illusion of spotlights while the towering bracketed ceilings gave the restaurant an open feel. Contradictory elements existed all around them and Otabek smiled at the symbolic nature of Yuri’s choice of dining location.

Peering around, Otabek watched as waiters and waitresses carried delicious plates of massive portions. With mild interest, Otabek watched as plates of food were slipped in front of other patrons, admiring the presentation and the portion size. Each smelled distinctly of traditional Russian cuisine, causing Otabek’s stomach to rumble unexpectedly. Thumbing the glossy menu in his hand, Otabek curiously glanced at Yuri to see if he had noticed.

Yuri’s mind had been contemplating how many calories he would have to work off if he ordered something from every section of the menu when Otabek’s stomach thunder invaded his ears. Slowly raising his eyes, Yuri lifted an eyebrow in Otabek’s direction. When they made eye contact, Yuri couldn’t hold back the snicker. “Are you harboring a beast over there?” Returning to his menu, Yuri didn’t see the mildly horrified expression on Otabek’s face.

There were times that Otabek had to remind himself that Yuri was still young and therefore the jokes he could make with his age-similar friends would not be humorous to his best friend. The plus side of this though, was that Otabek could make fairly nerdy jokes, and Yuri would break into laughter. Watching Yuri laugh was definitely one of Otabek’s favorite sights. “It is better than smuggling a wocket in my pocket.”

Slapping his menu down on the table, Yuri shook his head with a suppressed giggle. “Did you just quote Dr. Seuss? You nerd.” There was no insult in Yuri’s words, instead a quiet amusement and hinted affection for his friend as his poorly contained giggle erupted. It was impossible not to feel a constant bubble of excitement knowing that Otabek was there and would be for the next twenty-seven days. Ignoring the nagging part of him that was convinced Otabek would grow tired of his existence, Yuuri plucked a pink sugar packet from the holder and chucked it at his best friend’s head.

“Better a nerd than an ice tiger cub,” Otabek teased, catching the sugar packet Yuri flung at him. “Settle down, Yura, or I will have to get them to get you a kid’s menu and some crayons to keep you occupied.” When a second sugar packet hit Otabek in the nose, he let himself laugh into his menu. Yuri teased him about being an old man nerd, Otabek teased Yuri about being young. It was a sign that their preconceived notions about each other had finally fallen away, and Otabek loved every second of it.

Yuri’s retort opportunity was stolen from him as the waitress arrived to collect their orders. Ordering a ridiculous amount of food for two people, they settled back to wait with lazy smiles. A vibration in Yuri’s pocket had him reaching for his phone.

Otabek watched as Yuri stared down at the phone with a confused look. “What are you up to?” Leaning forward, Otabek braced his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands. Yuri was chewing on his bottom lip as his scowl deepened and Otabek wondered which online troll Yuri was going to make cry tonight.

“I got tagged in something on Tumblr…” still scanning his phone, Yuri blindly reached for his earbuds. The tag required shuffling music and he figured that Otabek would be amused by whatever popped up on Yuri’s Spotify account. Passing an earbud over the table, Yuri clicked the app open before explaining. “Something where you have to write down the first ten songs that pop up on your playlist. Wanna listen with me?” Glancing up he saw Otabek hooking the earbud in his ear. The first song started and they both listened with slight interest as Yuri made a note of the song on his phone.

Fingers twirling the red cord, Otabek examined the earbuds. “Are these new?” he asked letting the sounds of Imagine Dragons filter in one ear. Yuri’s vast variety of music taste made Otabek smile. His own tastes were equally as eclectic, although this was still a well-kept secret. If Yuri ever asked to randomly shuffle the music stored on Otabek’s phone, he knew that all of his cool points would immediately evaporate. 

“Victor gave them to me,” Yuri spat, head bobbing to the beat of the music in his ear. “He had this stupid smirk when he handed me the box and Katsudon had this weird look on his face. They are so dumb, but whatever, free earphones.”

“Speaking of Victor...” Otabek raised a hand at the two smiling faces on the other side of the glass window. Flinching when Yuri cussed, Otabek stood up slightly from his seat caught between feeling required to go say hello and not wanting to upset Yuri. Frozen with an awkward grimace, he watched as Victor and Yuuri continued down the sidewalk, linked hands swinging between them. The small noise Yuri made caused Otabek to raise an eyebrow in his direction.

“I can’t believe they didn’t come rushing in,” settling back into his relaxed position, Yuri glanced up at Otabek. The questioning look instantly irritated him. “What?” he fired off, frowning back toward his phone, pausing with his finger over the play button.

“Did you want them to come in?” Studying Yuri’s face, Otabek sat back in his seat, plucking a piece of bread from the basket and shoving half of it in his mouth. Yuri had sounded almost disappointed about the fact that Yuuri and Victor had chosen to leave them alone.

It happened sometimes when Yuri was talking about them. His voice would drop to a softer tone, his words more contemplative than criticizing as Yuri discussed watching them practice. Yuri’s words said that he didn’t respect or understand the complicated coach and skater relationship, but his downturned eyes and stuttering speech told a different story. More than once Otabek had wondered if Yuri noticed that his spoken opinions were being outweighed by his unspoken actions.

“No, they would have made a scene and been loud. Victor doesn’t have a quiet button.” He purposely didn’t look up from his phone when Yuri felt Otabek’s eyes examining the side of his face. Otabek had other questions that had a hint of opinion tucked inside the words and Yuri didn’t want to risk getting annoyed with his best friend on their first night together. Aiming for distraction, Yuri clicked the play button on his phone. Throwing his hands up, Yuri began to dance to the sound of Rhianna.

Otabek blinked across the table as Yuri began to oddly flail in what had to be a poor impression of an American rapper. Jaw dropping, his brain felt assaulted by the lyrics in his ears. “Bitch better have my money!” Yuri sang, making Otabek spit water down the front of his shirt. “Yuri!” he exclaimed, setting his glass down while continuing to stare wide-eyed. “You can’t include this song! Some of your angels are young.” His mind immediately went to his sister. Tayla was a young thirteen and a follower of Yuri. There was no way Otabek would want her listening to this song.

Defiantly, Yuri continued to sing, waving his hands in the air with a teasing smile aimed toward Otabek. He would never put this song on a list that his younger fans would see, especially because Yakov and Lilia would end up punishing him over it. They had weird rules about age-appropriate songs, and Yuri was positive that most of his music would not be appreciated. However, that didn’t stop him from taunting Otabek with the obscene lyrics, cackling when Otabek pulled the earbud from his ear with a disgusted look on his face.

“You like this?” Otabek waved the earbud, sighing when Yuri tapped his screen to flip to the next song. “I don’t even know if I could remix that into something useful.” Cautiously, Otabek began to lift the earbud back to his ear.

Before Yuri could think of a clever response, the waitress appeared at the end of their table, supporting a tray that was heavy with food. When Otabek slipped from his seat, offering to hold the try for the petite woman, Yuri smiled proudly across the table. His best friend was such a polite sap, offering to hold heavy things for pretty women and being offended by curse-filled music. Yuri loved every single second of his existence. Hungrily accepting the plates being handed off to him, Yuri grabbed his fork waiting only seconds after Otabek was reseated to dive into the massive amount of food laid out in front of them.

* * *

 

“We have four take out containers,” Otabek chuckled, swinging the bags from his right hand as Yuri unlocked the front door to Lilia’s house. The foyer was dark as were the rest of the rooms, and Yuri was instantly grateful that the geezers he lived with had found something else to do with themselves. Silently leading the way, Yuri motioned toward the fridge and watched as Otabek carefully placed their leftovers amongst the organized meal containers that dictated Yuri’s normal diet.

He hated those containers, perfectly portioned meals that failed to take into account that he was a teenager who had a feverish need to eat at all hours of the day. Victor and Yuuri were at least good for that reason, always letting Yuri demolish whatever he could find in their fridge. How the idiots understood more about his body’s needs than his actual caregivers was beyond Yuri’s comprehension, but he took advantage of it whenever possible.

Pushing away from the counter, Yuri lead Otabek back through the darkened house, bending to scoop Potya into his arms as they made their way down the hallway. Pausing at his own door, Yuri cocked his head toward Otabek. “I need to shower, since I barely rinsed off after dance this afternoon.” He saw Otabek’s nose crinkle and rolled his eyes. “Whatever, it isn’t like I sweat like your gnarly ass.” Yuri laughed when Otabek pushed his shoulder.

“You’ll get there some day,” jokingly Otabek patted Yuri on the head and laughed harder when Yuri tried to bat him away with Potya’s paw. “Go shower, and then? Games?” Otabek was fully aware that Yuri was going to keep him up to some bizarre hour, and he had slept on the plane in preparation for it.

“Games for sure,” Yuri plunked Potya into Otabek’s arms as he stepped into his bedroom. “Think you can amuse yourself for like twenty minutes without dozing off?” Yuri stumbled when Otabek tapped him lightly in the back of the knee with a raised foot. “Old man,” Yuri spat, with a smirk over his shoulder.

“Cub,” Otabek responded, hiking Potya onto his shoulder as he rolled his eyes at Yuri and made his way back down the hall. As he stepped into the overwhelming pink room, his cell phone buzzed in his pocket.

 _“Can you talk?”_ followed by a line of crying emojis was the first notification he saw. Sitting Potya on his bed, Otabek sighed as he slipped his laptop from his carryon bag and quickly connected to the wireless internet in the house. Whatever was upsetting Tayla, Otabek hoped he could fix it before Yuri got out of the shower.

His little sister’s face filled the screen, her brown eyes rimmed with red, a solemn indication that she had been crying. He didn’t have to ask what was wrong to prompt the verbal onslaught, the details of a fight with her friend and supposed boyfriend pouring out of Tayla without hesitation. When the hurricane of emotions had finally subsided and Otabek had a chance to put in his two cents, he could still see the bottom lip of his baby sister trembling in the fading light.

“Beka,” she whined, a fist coming up to rub her eye, “will you sing the song to me?”

His entire face flinched. He should have known the request would come, even though he was thousands of miles away. The minute he had seen the tears, he should have predicted it, and yet naively he hadn’t let the thought cross his mind. Sighing, he nodded his head, standing from the desk chair to close the door to the bedroom.

Tayla had caught him singing the British pop song a mere two years ago and as payment for her silence, he sang it to her whenever she needed to be cheered up. He knew the lyrics by heart, but would deny to anyone else that it was his favorite song. Otabek Altin, world class figure skater and kick ass DJ did not listen to boy bands.

Except he did. The up-tempo beat and catchy lyrics were hard to resist. The fascination had begun during his time in Detroit, and had regrettably never left him. It was a well-kept secret, except for the discovery by his nosy little sister.

Holding a finger up to the screen as a request for silence, Otabek listened for the sounds of running water. Confirming Yuri was still in the shower, he sighed, bringing up the hidden song list on his phone. Placing the phone next to his computer, he stood back and prepared to lift his sister’s spirits.

Stepping out of the shower, Yuri toweled off his hair, freezing when he heard an unexpected sound. Somewhere in the house, someone was singing, low and beautifully to the sound of a pop song he could partially recognize. Logically, he knew that the only other person in the house was Otabek, but his mind could not reconcile the sound of the melodic singing with the stoic face of his friend. Yanking on pajama pants as he hopped across his room, Yuri crept down the hallway to listen at Otabek’s door.

_“Baby you light up my world like nobody else, The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed, But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell, You don't know, oh oh, You don't know you're beautiful”_

Snickering into his hand, Yuri carefully turned the doorknob to Otabek’s room, easing the door open to peer inside. He had to bite his knuckles to keep from bursting into hysterical laughter at the sight of Otabek dancing while belting out the lyrics to a One Direction song. Taking a cautious step into the room, Yuri waved at Tayla’s grinning face on Otabek’s computer screen.

 _“That's what makes you beautiful!”_ Otabek opened his eyes to point at his sister and promptly froze in horror. He could see in the thumbnail sized picture of his own body that he was no longer alone in the room. Tayla began to cackle in her high-pitched teen girl laugh, as Otabek turned a deep shade of red. Scrambling for his phone, his shaking hands instead knocked it to the floor, accidentally increasing the volume. Wincing, Otabek dove, grabbing the sadistic device and jamming at every button until it stopped playing the soundtrack to his embarrassment. Slowly standing back up, Otabek placed his phone face down on the desk. “I can explain…” he trailed off, hand reaching up to nervously scratch at the back of his neck.

“This I have to hear,” Yuri plunked smugly on the bed, stretching his growing legs over the pink flower comforter. “So DJ Altin, how do you know all the lyrics and the dance moves to this particular song?” Folding his hands on his lap, Yuri peered up at Otabek, the urge to laugh barely clamped behind his pleased smile. He knew Otabek was a huge nerd, but this took it to a whole new level.

“Tayla loves that song,” Otabek was still avoiding eye contact, looking anywhere but Yuri as he spoke, “I learned it for her. To cheer her up when she is sad.” He glanced up and saw Yuri soften. He would get away with it, if only-

“Liar!” Tayla shouted into the camera, face full of mischief. “Don’t let him fool you, Yuri! That is _his_ favorite song. He loves it! I caught him singing it and that’s why he has to sing it to me when I’m upset. He is buying my silence one performance at a time!”

Yuri’s eyes went wide with this new knowledge, the sarcastic comments flying to the tip of his tongue as the blush continued to spread over Otabek’s face and over to his ears. His super cool, super nerdy best friend, was a One Directioner, and Yuri never planned to let Otabek live it down. “So… do you know all their songs?” Leaning forward, with a mocking tone of interest, Yuri laughed when Otabek glared at him. “Who is your favorite band member? Harry? You seem like a Harry fan…” Yuri collapsed in giggles as Otabek picked up a pink teddy bear and threw it at his head.

“And!” Tayla called from the computer.

Otabek’s hand shot out, grabbing the top of his laptop. “Alright sister dear, you have been enough help, tell mom I’ll help her plan your funeral when I get home.” He slammed the laptop shut as Yuri’s phone beeped in his pocket. Narrowing his eyes, Otabek stalked toward Yuri on the bed.

“Before I was so rudely interrupted,” Yuri read the message with a singsong lilt to his voice, a scarily accurate portrayal of Tayla’s actual intonation, “I was going to say, he is lying about the belly dancing too. He took belly dancing for three years. If you want any other secrets, they are going to cost you.” Wiggling his eyebrows at Otabek, Yuri kicked out his foot in an attempt to keep Otabek from advancing any further. His quick fingers attempted to type out a message asking how much the secrets would cost him when Otabek slapped the phone out of his hands. With a look of mocked shock, Yuri raised his face to stare at Otabek’s angry red one. “Don’t worry,” Yuri smirked, leaning back against the headboard, “I don’t believe her about the belly dancing. I saw you try that and it was awful.”

If he had been a smart man, Otabek would have taken the out and run with it. The glee in Yuri’s eyes depleted his intelligence and he had the strangest desire to wipe the look off of his friend’s face. Finding out about his love for a ridiculous song was one thing, but somehow Otabek figured that the second secret his sister let out would have an entirely different reaction. Crossing his arms over his chest, Otabek leaned back against the closet doors. “What if I was faking it at that lesson?” He kept his expression steady, studying Yuri’s face with a bored look.

“Fine,” Yuri retrieved his phone from the ground, quickly googling songs for belly dancing and holding his thumb over the play button on the YouTube video. “Prove it. Do it. _I dare you_.” Slamming his thumb onto the screen, Yuri raised an eyebrow in Otabek’s direction as the song filled the room.

The beat was familiar and Otabek waited only a moment before standing up. Eyes focused directly on Yuri’s green ones, he began to sway his hips in a way that would have put everyone in their group belly dancing class to shame. He couldn’t do ballet to save his life, but he had found his rhythm in belly dancing classes more than five years ago.

Hitting pause, Yuri stared with his jaw hanging open. “The hell, Beka.” He didn’t have anything else to say. Otabek had gone from the dorkiest person who Yuri knew, right back to the coolest person Yuri knew in under a minute. His brain was suffering from information whiplash as he tried to process all the new aspects of his friend at once.

“We still have a lot to learn about each other,” Otabek shrugged, offering a hand to Yuri to pull him up from the bed. “How about we go crush some people in COD and leave the rest of the secrets for another day?” He smirked when Yuri only nodded at him, leading the way out of the room and down the hallway to Yuri’s bedroom.

* * *

 

Three hours later, they were in the middle of a sniper attack when Yuri started humming under his breath. Otabek immediately recognized the tune coming through his headphones and glared at the screen. Switching off his mic, he twisted his body and said “that song kind of makes me think of you, you know?” Turning back to the game, Otabek snickered as he watched Yuri’s in-game character take a death shot from an inexperienced player. Out of the corner of his eye, Otabek watched Yuri continue to open and close his mouth like a fish out of water.

Day one had been a wild ride, and Otabek could not wait to see what the next twenty-six days would bring.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, an extra special thank you to my non-tilted beta [atelerixe](https://atelerixe.tumblr.com)


End file.
